Bill Ayers dropped by the Purdue University (Indiana) campus to give a talk on curriculum, and the locals got nervous.
(If you're not familiar with Purdue, it's a Big Ten school with the rare attribute of being a top 10 engineering and top 10 ag school. The first and last men to walk on the moon were Purdue grads. It's a good school, but leans to the right and is in the heart of a political conservative state.)
When Colin Powell came to Purdue to speak, three people protested. In contrast...
Educator Ayers unruffled by protest at Purdue'70s anti-war activist defends demonstrators' rightsWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The controversy surrounding a talk about education Thursday night at Purdue University was not lost on the speaker, Bill Ayers.
But Ayers didn't let protesters upset his lively 90-minute talk and question-and-answer session on school reform.
When a voice amplified by a bullhorn outside could be heard denouncing Ayers inside the Lawson Computer Science Building, Ayers said everyone has a right to voice an opinion.
"They are protesting a cartoon character and not me," said Ayers, distinguished professor of education at the University of Illinois-Chicago. "And if they were in here, I think they would agree."
The protesters blasted Purdue's bringing to the campus a co-founder of the radical anti-war Weather Underground group in the 1970s. Ayers' connection to President Barack Obama became an issue during the 2008 presidential race.
"It is the role of the university to invite lots and lots of people to speak," Ayers said. "It has nothing to do with endorsing my views or my history or anything of the sort."
Ayers' talk, titled "Inequality and Education: The Challenge for Urban Schools," was punctuated by two major points: that students should be taught to ask questions, and that education is not a commodity.
"We have to build curriculum around one word that challenges every regime, and that is 'Why?' " he said. "Whatever you teach, you teach that you ask questions."
Ayers also warned that strategies that some think will fix education -- such as voucher programs, charter schools, busing -- don't help failing urban schools.
More than 200 people, most of them opponents of Ayers' appearance on campus, positioned themselves outside Lawson Hall for the duration of his talk.
Purdue freshman Daniel Burgin stood near the building's front steps, passing out anti-Ayers fliers.
"I don't think he should be considered a respected scholar at all, and to have him speaking here at Purdue is an outrage," Burgin said.
Less than 10 feet away, Purdue sophomore Grant Champion had a very different opinion.
"I think it's ridiculous that people don't want him here," he said. "I don't agree with his past, but he's in there speaking on a topic that he is educated and well-versed in, and the same people who complain about having their rights taken are trying to do the same to him."
Although tensions were high and a few isolated arguments sprang up, the demonstration was peaceful. Purdue University Police Department officers were positioned in several spots around the building.
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2009909250394 And now, the pictures:
This woman has two daughters at Purdue. God save them.
Classic Indiana knuckledragger. Nice pictures, fatass.
Hey, if it was good enough for Joe Wilson...
The pervasive bullhorns
More bull...
plus horns...(???)
The lecture was closed to the public, so cops were needed to keep the idiots away from the academic discussion. Adults only, doncha know...
The Freepers were there to help keep the average IQ below 90.
The protest at its peak
This teabagger proclaimed that Ayers's presence on campus was unAmerican. I guess he feels that opinion was more relevant in the 18th century...
The throng of protestors. In all fairness, all four corners of this intersection were populated by knuckledraggers.